The concept of a public health emergency is not limited toepidemic prone diseases but extends to biological,chemical and nuclear hazards, including the chemical ornuclear contamination of the environment and1contaminated food and pharmaceuticals. InternationalHealth Regulations (IHR) adopted by the World HealthAssembly in 2005 are binding on all WHO member statesand provide a regulatory framework for international2management of public health emergencies. The purpose ofthe IHR is to prevent and manage the public health risksarising from the international spread of disease whileavoiding unnecessary interference with international3traffic and trade. Each country must develop and maintainthe capacity to assess health risks within its territory and tonotify WHO of all events that may constitute a public4health emergency of international concern. In South-EastAsia the main public health issues are infectious diseases5and communicable diseases . This article describes thedefinition of public health emergencies, types of PublicHealth Emergencies, Public Health Emergencies ofInternational Concern (PHEIC), examples of some publichealth emergencies in this century, public healthemergencies preparedness (PHEP), key elements of publichealth emergency preparedness, capability assessment forpublic health emergency preparedness and response, andsteps of developing preparedness and response capabilitiesplanning model in deed.